Wholesome homemade cat food recipes

Get your feline friend to eat anything with these simple treat recipes (and even to swallow medicine!)

This nutritious meat and vegetable meal will be a welcome change of pace for your cat. You know exactly what is in it, and it's budget-friendly too.

Makes 2 or 3 servings

• 150 g (2/3 c) ground chicken or hamburger
• 1 jar mixed vegetable baby food
• 1 cat vitamin, crumbled (optional)
• 75 g (1/3 c) plain dry bread crumbs

  1. In a small pot over medium heat, poach the ground meat in a small amount of water until medium rare. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

  2. Stir together the meat, meat juices, vegetables and vitamin, if desired. Form into bite-size balls and roll in bread crumbs.

  3. Serve as much as your cat will eat in one sitting. Store the rest in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

• Cats are choosy about what they eat, and often turn their noses up at the taste of medicine.
• If you have trouble getting yours to take its medicine, try smearing the medication on the back of a front paw — the cat will lick it off.
• If it is in pill form, crush the pill and mix it with a little cream cheese to make it adhere to the paw.

Cats are famous for loving tuna, and yours will jump for joy when you whip up these healthful treats that use a can of "people" tuna and a few pantry staples. As a bonus, the oil-packed tuna will help prevent hairballs. You won't find fresh treats like this at any pet store.

Makes about 24 

• 1 can oil-packed tuna
• 50 g (1/4 c) cornmeal
• 50 g (1/4 c) bran cereal
• 350 g (1 1/2 c) whole wheat flour

  1. Preheat oven to 175ºC (350ºF). In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together.
  2. Press dough out on a floured board and cut into small cookies with a cookie cutter or pizza roller.
  3. Place cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until light brown. Turn out onto a cake rack to cool. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month.